Pro Tools facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Pro Tools

Original author(s)	Evan Brooks Peter Gotcher
Developer(s)	Avid Audio under Avid Technology (previously Digidesign)
Initial release	January 20, 1989; 36 years ago (1989-01-20)
Stable release	Pro Tools 2023.12 / December 12, 2023; 19 months ago (2023-12-12)
Written in	C, C++, Assembly
Operating system	macOS, Windows
Available in	8 languages
List of languages Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish
Type	Digital audio workstation
License	Proprietary (software-as-a-service)

Pro Tools is a special computer program called a digital audio workstation (DAW). It was created by Avid Technology (which used to be called Digidesign). This software runs on both Microsoft Windows and macOS computers.

People use Pro Tools for many things related to sound. It helps them create and produce music, make sound for movies and TV shows (like sound design and mixing), and generally record, edit, and improve (or master) sounds.

Pro Tools can work by itself as a program. It can also connect to special equipment like analog-to-digital converters and PCIe cards. These cards have powerful chips called digital signal processors (DSPs). DSPs help your computer by adding more power to handle sound effects in real-time. This means effects like reverb (echo), equalization (changing sound frequencies), and compression (making loud parts quieter and quiet parts louder) work smoothly. They also help reduce latency, which is the delay you hear when recording.

Just like other DAWs, Pro Tools can do what old multitrack tape recorders and mixing consoles used to do. But it also has cool digital features. For example, it lets you edit sound in a non-linear way. This means you can change things without messing up the original sound files. You can also combine different takes of a track, stretch or shrink audio in time, change the pitch of sounds, and mix down songs faster than real-time.

In Pro Tools, you see your audio, MIDI (music data), and video tracks laid out on a timeline. You can add audio effects, virtual instruments, and even tools that act like real music gear, such as microphone preamps or guitar amplifiers. You can adjust all these in real-time using a virtual mixer. Pro Tools supports different sound qualities, from 16-bit to 32-bit float, and can handle very detailed sound up to 192 kHz. It works with many audio file types like WAV and AIFF, and can import video files like MOV. It also supports modern sound formats like Dolby Atmos.

Pro Tools even has tools for editing video. You can bring in high-quality video files and work with them. It uses time code to keep everything in sync, has tempo maps, and features like elastic audio and automation. This lets you automatically change things like volume over time. It also supports mixing sound in surround sound, Dolby Atmos, and even VR sound using Ambisonics.

Older versions of Pro Tools used a 24-bit system for effects and 48-bit for mixing. Newer systems use a more advanced 32-bit or 64-bit floating-point system. This makes the sound quality even better. Starting with version 11, the software was updated to work with 64-bit computers, making it faster and more powerful.

In 2022, Pro Tools changed how you buy it. Instead of buying it once forever, you now pay a monthly or yearly fee (a subscription). There are different plans: Pro Tools Artist, Pro Tools Studio, and Pro Tools Flex. Later in 2022, Avid also released a free version called Pro Tools Intro.

How Pro Tools Started

The Early Days: Digidrums (1983–1985)

Pro Tools was created by two friends, Evan Brooks and Peter Gotcher. They both studied at UC Berkeley.

In 1983, they were interested in music and electronics. They figured out how to make new sound chips for a popular drum machine called the E-mu Drumulator. This drum machine had limited built-in sounds.

A year later, they started selling these upgrade chips under their company, Digidrums. They offered five different chips with new drum sounds. These chips were very popular, and they sold 60,000 units!

Digidesign Sound Designer (1985–1989)

When Apple released the first Macintosh computer in 1984, Evan and Peter saw a new opportunity. They wanted to create a better tool that used the Mac's easy-to-use graphical screen.

Working with E-mu Systems, they made a Mac program called Sound Designer. It helped edit sounds for the Emulator II keyboard. This program, which was the very first version of Pro Tools, came out in 1985 and cost $995.

They quickly made Sound Designer work with many other keyboards. Evan Brooks later created a "universal file specification." This meant Sound Designer files could be shared between different brands of keyboards using MIDI. This made it much easier for musicians to use sounds across different devices.

In 1987, Apple released the Macintosh II. This computer had card slots and more memory. Evan and Peter realized they could make Sound Designer into a full digital audio workstation. They decided to build both the software and the special hardware themselves.

Sound Tools and Sound Designer II (1989–1990)

The new system, combining hardware and software, was called Sound Tools. It was introduced on January 20, 1989, and was advertised as the "first tapeless studio." It used a special card called Sound Accelerator, which had a powerful Motorola processor.

This system allowed 16-bit sound playback and recording at 44.1/48 kHz. It also had built-in sound processing like equalizers and time stretching.

Sound Tools came with Sound Designer II software. This was a simple sound editor for Mac computers. Later, they added digital connections for recording from DAT tapes. The file format used by Sound Designer II (SDII) became a standard for digital audio files for a long time.

Pro Tools and Its Growth (1990–1994)

The first Pro Tools system was launched on June 5, 1991. It was based on earlier software called Deck, which was the first multi-track digital recorder for personal computers. Pro Tools used Digidesign's Audiomedia card for sound input and output. It could also sync with video and audio tape machines. The whole system cost $6,000.

In 1993, Digidesign released Pro Tools II. This was the first version fully developed by Digidesign itself. It combined the editor and mixer into one program. Pro Tools II became very popular, selling over 8,000 systems worldwide. It was the best-selling digital audio workstation at the time.

Pro Tools II TDM: More Tracks and Real-time Effects (1994)

In 1994, Pro Tools 2.5 introduced a new technology called time-division multiplexing (TDM). This allowed multiple sound streams to be sent between special DSP cards. With TDM, you could link up to four cards to create a 16-track system. You could also run many DSP-based effects (called plug-ins) at the same time, in real-time.

That same year, Digidesign joined a larger company called Avid. Avid was known for its video editing software, Media Composer.

Pro Tools III: Even More Tracks and PCI Cards (1995–1997)

Pro Tools III could handle 16 tracks with just one card. You could expand it to 48 tracks by adding more cards. New "DSP Farm" cards were added to give even more power for real-time sound processing.

Along with Pro Tools III, Digidesign released new interfaces like the 888, which had eight channels for sound input and output. They also included many TDM plug-ins with the software, like effects for dynamics, EQ, and reverb.

In 1996, Apple changed its computers to use PCI bus slots. Digidesign quickly updated Pro Tools to work with PCI cards. This change meant Pro Tools could now run on Intel-based Windows computers for the first time in 1997.

24-bit Audio and Surround Sound: Pro Tools | 24 and MIX (1997–2002)

With Pro Tools | 24 in 1997, Digidesign introduced 24-bit audio. This meant much better sound quality. It also brought new PCI cards and interfaces. Later, Pro Tools 4.1.1 in 1998 allowed up to 64 tracks. The updated Pro Tools | 24 MIX system gave even more processing power.

Pro Tools 5, released in 1999, added much better MIDI features. It also introduced surround sound mixing and multi-channel plug-ins in 2001.

Around this time, many professional studios started using Pro Tools instead of old tape machines. A famous song, "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin (1999), was the first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 to be fully recorded, edited, and mixed using only Pro Tools. This showed how powerful and easy to use the software was, especially for editing vocals.

Digidesign also started making Pro Tools for people who weren't professional studios. In 1999, they released the Digi001 bundle. This included an audio interface and a special version of the software called Pro Tools LE, which didn't use DSP cards and was limited to 24 tracks.

High-Quality Audio: Pro Tools | HD (2002–2011)

In 2002, Digidesign launched Pro Tools | HD. This was a big update for both hardware and software. It replaced the older systems and allowed for very high-quality sound at up to 192 kHz. It came with new DSP cards and interfaces. The software, Pro Tools 6, had a new look and new features for both OS X and Windows XP.

These new HD cards had more powerful processors. A full system could handle many tracks at very high sample rates. When Apple changed its Mac computers to use PCI Express slots, Digidesign released new PCIe DSP cards. These cards were even faster and reduced delays.

Pro Tools became a standard in professional studios because it was a strong and reliable alternative to old analog recording. Features like Beat Detective (for timing edits) and Elastic Audio (for stretching audio) changed how music was produced.

Other important software updates included background tasks (like saving files), real-time plug-in use, and a browser for managing media. Pro Tools 7 added features like Instrument tracks (for virtual instruments) and real-time MIDI processing. Pro Tools 8 added a MIDI Editor and Score (music notation) view.

The Pro Tools LE line, which was for home and mid-level users, was stopped when Pro Tools 9 came out.

Pro Tools 9: No Special Hardware Needed (2010)

Pro Tools 9, released in November 2010, was a big change. For the first time, you didn't need special Digidesign hardware to run the software. You could use almost any audio device with your computer. This made Pro Tools much more accessible.

Many features that were only available in the expensive Pro Tools HD version, like automatic plug-in delay compensation, were now included in the standard Pro Tools 9. If you had HD hardware, the software would run as Pro Tools HD with all its advanced features.

AIR: Built-in Instruments and Effects

In 2004, Apple included many virtual instruments in its Logic Pro software. To compete, Avid (who owned Digidesign) bought a company that made virtual instruments. So, Pro Tools 8 came with its first built-in library of virtual instruments and new plug-ins. This made Pro Tools more appealing for music creation.

• AIR Virtual Instruments
  • Structure Free: A basic sound sampler.
  • Boom: An electronic drum machine.
  • Vacuum: A virtual synthesizer.
  • Mini Grand: A sampled acoustic piano.
  • DB33: A sampled Hammond B3 organ.
  • Xpand!2: A versatile sound library.

Pro Tools | HDX (2011–Present)

In October 2011, Avid introduced Pro Tools 10 and new powerful DSP PCIe cards called HDX. These cards had many DSP processors, making sound processing even more precise. This improved the sound quality and allowed for almost no delay when using DSP-powered effects.

Another line of cards, HD Native, also offered low delay but didn't have DSPs. They relied on your computer's main processor.

With Pro Tools 10, Avid also launched a new plug-in format called AAX. AAX Native replaced older plug-ins, and AAX DSP replaced TDM plug-ins for HDX systems. AAX was designed to work with future 64-bit systems.

Important new features in Pro Tools 10 included Clip Gain (for adjusting volume on individual audio clips), Disk Caching (loading audio into memory for smoother playback), and real-time fades. It also supported 32-bit float audio and mixed audio formats in one session.

Moving to 64-bit (2013)

Pro Tools 11, released in June 2013, was a major update. It switched to a 64-bit software design. This meant the program and its plug-ins could use all of your computer's memory, making it much more powerful. The new audio engine allowed for faster "offline bouncing" (mixing down songs faster than real-time) and better use of your computer's CPU.

Because of this change, older HD Accel systems and 32-bit plug-ins were no longer supported. In 2015, a free starter version called "First" was launched, but it was later stopped in 2021.

What Pro Tools Can Do

The main screen of Pro Tools 9, showing audio and MIDI tracks on a Windows computer.

Pro Tools has two main windows for working: the Edit window and the Mix window. The Edit window shows your timeline, and the Mix window shows your virtual mixer. There are also special windows for editing MIDI and musical scores. You can save and recall different ways you like to arrange your windows.

The Timeline

The timeline shows all your tracks. For audio tracks, you see the sound waves. For MIDI and Instrument tracks, you see a piano roll with notes. Video tracks show small pictures of frames. You can record different versions of audio or MIDI on separate layers (called playlists) for each track. This helps you combine the best parts.

You can also change mixer settings and plug-in settings over time using automation. This means you can make a track's volume go up or down automatically, for example.

Time on the timeline can be shown in different ways: musical bars and beats, regular time (hours, minutes, seconds), or SMPTE timecode (used in video). You can also program changes in tempo (speed) and meter (time signature). Audio and MIDI clips can follow these tempo changes or stay in their exact spot.

Editing Sounds and Music

You can move, cut, and copy audio and MIDI clips on the timeline without changing the original sound files. This is called non-destructive editing. You can stretch or shrink audio in time (TCE), change its pitch, or apply effects like equalization and dynamics processing in real-time using Elastic Audio. You can also adjust the volume of individual clips.

Other sound processing can be done using AudioSuite plug-ins. These apply effects to the sound file itself, not in real-time. Pro Tools can even turn audio into MIDI data using the Celemony Melodyne engine. This lets you see and change the pitch and rhythm of recorded audio.

MIDI notes, their loudness (velocities), and other controls can be edited directly on the timeline or in a special MIDI Editor window. You can see many MIDI tracks together in one piano roll, with different colors for each. MIDI tracks can also be shown as musical notation in a score editor.

You can import video files into Pro Tools and edit them on video tracks. You can play back multiple video files at once. The video is handled by the Avid Video Engine, which uses your computer's graphics card for smooth performance. You can see the video in a separate window or full screen.

Mixing Your Project

The virtual mixer shows all the controls for your tracks. This includes places to add effects (inserts), ways to send sound to other effects (sends), and controls for input and output. You also see automation controls, panning (left/right balance), solo/mute buttons, record arm buttons, volume faders, and level meters.

Each track can have different sound formats, like mono, stereo, or multichannel (like 5.1 surround sound). Dolby Atmos and Ambisonics formats are also available for mixing.

You can send audio to and from different places, both physical connections and internal paths. Internal routing uses busses and auxiliary tracks. Virtual instruments are loaded on Instrument tracks, which take MIDI data and produce audio.

Plug-ins (effects and instruments) can be processed in real-time using special DSP chips (AAX DSP) or your computer's main processor (AAX Native).

Making Tracks Permanent

You can "commit" audio, auxiliary, and Instrument tracks to new tracks that contain their processed sound. This is useful for virtual instruments, turning them into audio files to prepare for mixing. It also helps free up your computer's power or share your project with others who might not have the same plug-ins. You can render multiple tracks at once.

Similarly, you can "freeze" tracks. This renders their sound and temporarily stops editing on them. This also saves computer power. If you need to make changes later, you can "unfreeze" them.

Mixing Down Your Song

You can "bounce" your main mix (or any internal mix) to a file on your computer. This can be done in real-time (if you're using external gear) or offline (much faster than real-time). You can mix down to mono, stereo, or any other multichannel format. You can even mix down up to 24 different parts of your song at once, like separate audio stems.

You can also bounce audio and video together into a MOV file.

Sharing Your Work

You can share parts or all of your Pro Tools project with other DAWs or video editing software. This is done using formats like AAF or OMF. These files include audio and video with their information, so the other program can rebuild your project with the original edits and settings.

You can also selectively import data between Pro Tools sessions. For example, you can bring in audio clips from another project while keeping your current track settings. You can also save and recall "Track Presets," which are saved settings for a track or group of tracks.

Working Together Online

Pro Tools projects can be saved to the Avid Cloud and shared with other users. Different people can work on the same project at the same time. They can upload new tracks or changes to existing ones, like audio clips, automation, or plug-ins.

Field Recorder Workflows

Pro Tools can read special information (metadata) in audio files from field recorders. This helps manage multi-channel recordings made on location. You can see details like scene and take numbers.

Pro Tools can identify similar audio clips, for example, by matching timecode or file names. This helps you replace audio from one source (like a boom microphone) with audio from another (like a lavalier microphone) while keeping your edits.

Linking Multiple Systems

Up to twelve Pro Tools Ultimate systems can be linked together over a network. This is useful in big studios where different parts of a mix (like dialogue, effects, and music) are on different computers. One system can control the playback and mixing for all of them. Pro Tools can also sync with external devices using SMPTE/EBU timecode or MIDI timecode.

Different Versions of Pro Tools

Pro Tools software comes in three paid versions (Artist, Studio, and Ultimate) and one free version (Intro).

Before 2022, you could buy a "perpetual license" (you owned it forever). There was a standard version and a more complete "Ultimate" version (formerly called "HD").

Control Surfaces

In the mid-1990s, Digidesign started making special devices to control Pro Tools. These "control surfaces" were like modern mixing boards.

ProControl (1998) was the first. It had moving faders that responded to touch. You could expand it by adding more fader sections. Control 24 (2001) added support for 5.1 surround sound and included high-quality preamps designed by Focusrite.

Larger control surfaces like Icon D-Control (2004) were made for big TV and film productions. Smaller ones like Command|8 (2004) and D-Command (2005) were also released. Venue (2005) was a similar system made for live sound.

Later, Avid bought Euphonix, a company that made other control surfaces. These were then integrated with Pro Tools. Newer control surfaces like Avid S6 (2013) and Avid S3 (2014) combined features from previous designs. Pro Tools Dock (2015) was an iPad-based control surface.

See Also

In Spanish: Pro Tools para niños

• Comparison of multitrack recording software
• List of music software